The present invention relates generally to printable and electronically imagable clear and opaque pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) coated film or paper substrates for hand applied labels of all types used in product identification, marking, shipping and information display. The film substrate can be provided with a print receiver that has the multi-functional print properties of conventional printing techniques such as web offset, flexographic and gravure as well as variable imaging such as laser toner technologies and ink jet. The substrate with adhesive is provided with a lay flat release liner backing that will lay flat through the various printing, imaging, cutting and stacking processes.
An example of where this invention can be used is a laser printable-pressure sensitive adhesive coated label that is first printed with fixed information such as a company logo using conventional flexographic printing techniques before the label is variably imaged in roll or fan-fold format for subsequent conversion into cut stacks of discreet labels.
The labels for example, could be used in bar coding, product identification and price marking applications replacing polyester films or vinyl films mounted on a heavy release liner. The prior art variably imaged labels are typically processed as cut sheets or rolls with multiple labels on the sheet or roll that need to be manually separated by hand before application through the use of die cutting and/or perforation into individual labels. This is a time consuming labor intensive manual operation where single easily removable pre-cut labels would provide for time savings in application and a smoother application process.
Most preferably, the invention relates to a novel single ply substrate with a pressure sensitive adhesive, lay flat release liner and a multi-functional print receiver coating that can be cut into stacks of labels through the entire substrate where the face stock and adhesive would not need to be removed in the areas being cut to form the shape of the label. In addition to providing conventional print reception, the receiver coating also provides and helps maintain the electrical properties through all processing needed for toner electrostatic printing, also known as laser printing and to control the anti-static properties of the label for ease of processing, handling and separation in a cut stack of labels.
Printed labels comprise an important form of communication for permanent and temporary labeling of various items. Labels are commonly used to convey information in a wide range of applications. While this invention is not limited to any specific market area that would use a hand applied label and this disclosure is in no way meant to be limiting, shelf labels used in the retail environment familiar to all will be used for illustrative purposes.
For example, in the retail environment, labels are commonly applied to product displays to identify objects and to convey information about those objects to customers such as pricing, product identification, sale details, etc. Product information tends to be dynamic in this environment and product offerings and pricing undergo frequent changes. Point-of-sale product labeling is often changed by applying new labels to the edge of shelves on which the products are displayed. Such shelf labeling is a significant part of the labeling activity in commercial retail establishments and large numbers of labels are used today in retail outlets for shelf edge price marking and promotional labels called shelf talkers. The typical retail market includes aisles of shelves on which identification and price labels are affixed using a pressure sensitive adhesive on the back side thereof which forms a removable bond with the shelf edge. A shelf talker is a special type of product label used for promoting brand identity, units of measure, price comparisons, and special sale pricing and promotions. The shelf talker is usually larger than the shelf label, and is used in addition thereto for increasing the visibility of the particular product being promoted. Shelf talkers are usually made of clear film that is placed over the price marker label and is designed to be removable from the base price label and shelf edge the contact clear label is applied over.
Labels with variable imaging are typically provided in groups of similar die cut size on individual sheets for collectively printing the desired information thereon. Fixed information, such as store identification and product graphics can be pre-printed in large quantities of the sheets in a suitable manner during the production of the die cut labels and variable imaged at a later time or die cut blank labels can be produced that are imaged with fixed and variable information at a later time. Variable information is printed on a common sheet such as the specific product, size, price or promotion information may be locally printed at a service bureau or distribution center that will distribute the labels or they can be printed on-demand at store level using laser, thermal transfer and direct thermal printers.
Due to their typical temporary applications and disposability, shelf labels must be easy to produce, install, remove and be durable to withstand the rigors of the application such as cleaning with various hard surface cleaners. Cost is always a significant factor for the substrate material. Lighter weight functional substrates are preferred for reduced shipping and distribution costs. As many prices and promotions change weekly, new shelf edge labels and shelf talkers are typically sent out by courier. Couriers are now migrating to “Conventional Packaging” where you pay a fixed price for a certain size package with fixed dimensions and an upcharge for excessive weight. A thinner composite of face stock, adhesive and liner will allow for more labels in a box and assist in reducing distribution costs under the new dimensional packaging pricing now used as a standard by most courier services. Because of the sheer volume of these types of labels that are consumed, an environmentally sustainable substrate is preferred.
A planogram is a visual diagram, or drawing, that provides in detail where every product in a retail store should be placed. These schematics not only present a flow chart for the particular merchandise departments within a store layout but also show on which aisle and on what shelf an item is located. A planogram should also illustrate how many facings are allocated for each Shelf Keeping Unit (SKU).
It is an object of this invention to provide for stacks of individual variably imaged labels to be applied that are cut and stacked in sequence to match up with the planogram of a retail store for ease of installation. This means that label variable imaging can be programmed to print in a sequence that when cut and stacked will be in order of application as one would walk down the aisle in a retail environment
It is further an object of the invention to simplify the labeling process by producing stacks of individual labels with an easy application format using a crack and peel liner without having to break down imaged sheets of multiple labels into individual labels as is now done